Dejan Lovren sold to Zenit St Petersburg

Liverpool's Croatian Dejan Lovren, has completed a transfer to Zenit St Petersburg of £10.9M.

The 31 year old centre-back joins the Russian side on a 3 year deal.

Despite an appearance in the World Cup final in 2018, the player has fell down the pecking order at Anfield after missing games through injury and has been the reds effective 4th choice centre-back in this title winning campaign.

From his arrival in 2014 he spent the first four seasons as a first choice centre-back but the arrival of Virgil van Dijk effectively moved him out of consistent first team appearances.

He made 185 appearances for the reds in six years, scoring 8 goals.

Speaking on his Instagram account he said:

(To) The fans – There has been a lot of love and criticism, and I respect each and every one of you, rest assured all I ever wanted to do is Win, and Win we did!

The City of Liverpool – Thank you for having me and my family. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

What else can I say.. I will miss the spirit of the club, the city, the people. I will see you around my friends, and I wish you all the best.

YNWA

His Liverpool contract expired next summer, but Liverpool did have the option of extending it for a further 12 months and will likely consider £11M a good return for a player bought 6 years ago for £20M.

We wish Dejan all the best in his future career in Russia.

View this post on Instagram

The game of football is everything to me and I have tried throughout my tenure at LFC to be the best I can. Playing for this amazing club was a privilege, it comes with responsibility. Wearing the badge was an honour. The last six years have been a crazy ride. We have been through it all, our relationship has been evolving and was a source of intense feelings… In the end, optimism, desire, togetherness and honest hard-work have brought us to the heights of domestic and European Football, moments none of us will ever forget. Before I first walked through the doors of Melwood I promised myself I would give all I have to ensure that one day I could look back and have the satisfaction of knowing I have given everything to the club that opened its doors to me. Today it is my turn to say goodbye to Liverpool FC. Although I am no longer a team member, I don’t look at this as an end to our relationship. We have written history together and our memories will last forever. None of this would have happened without the collective force that makes this club what it is. So, I want to thank everybody, in particular; My teammates who were always incredible competition on the training ground and amazing support off the training ground, I will always be here for you. The Boss, Mr Klopp, who was the man that installed an unbreakable belief in me and the team – I thank you for your guidance and inspiration. The training staff who have made us the savages we are. The staff behind the scenes that make the club tick – Our home would not be what it is without you, I thank you for everything you did for me and the team over the years, you know who you are. The fans – There has been a lot of love and criticism, and I respect each and every one of you, rest assured all I ever wanted to do is Win, and Win we did! The City of Liverpool – Thank you for having me and my family. You will always have a special place in our hearts. What else can I say.. I will miss the spirit of the club, the city, the people. I will see you around my friends, and I wish you all the best. YNWA @liverpoolfc

A post shared by Dejan Lovren (@dejanlovren06) on Jul 27, 2020 at 6:03am PDT